Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Gene Patrick’s Other Comic Strip for the Journal

Anyone who has read this blog for a long time knows that I’m a fan of the late Gene Patrick and his Passing Scene comic strip that ran in the Journal for several years beginning in the mid-1960s and right into the 1970s. At times it must seem like I’m attempting to post the entire run of the strip.

The Passing Scene was great because it commented on the happenings of Lorain County. Politics seemed to provide an endless supply of material for Patrick and his strip included funny caricatures of local politicians such as Lorain Mayors Woody Mathna and Joe Zahorec.

But Patrick must have had an urge to do a classic style strip that would feature his own material and humor, independent of any local angle. He found that outlet in a strip he started a couple years after the Passing Scene was underway.

And that new strip was called Ollie Odd. It was odd all right, and done in a gag-a-day style format.

Here are a few samples of the strip that ran in April 1967 on the 5th, 6th and 14th. This first batch was focused on Ollie’s attempts to come up with a good mode of transportation.

Perhaps it’s fortunate that Patrick's Ollie Odd didn’t take off, as its success might have deprived Journal readers of his well-remembered Passing Scene.